Latricia Young/Contributing Writer
The Frost Art Museum, one of the world’s largest freestanding museums in South Florida, is continuously serving its community. The museum focuses on culture, commerce activities and exhibitions.
On July 29, Frost Art Museum held the Artful Playdate. This event that took place, at 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. for kids ranging from ages 4-12, kicked off around 11:00am for the hands on activities. Before the kids got downstairs they were in a room on the second floor of the museum, learning about the Mexican culture that inspired the event.
The Artful Playdate happens occasionally at the Frost Museum. But on this specific date, it was hosted by an artist named Laura Villarreal.
Anthony Monzon/PantherNOW
Villarreal is a visual artist originally from Mexico. Before Villarreal moved to Florida, after leaving New York to pursue her dreams in the arts, she worked as a banker for a few years, then taught Spanish at UNC for two years.
Villarreal encourages art and is very open to teaching it. In Villarreal’s words, “To flourish in what you really love to do, you have to be open to all of the possibilities around what you’re studying.”
The Artful Playdate is not her first art show however, Villarreal is now working out of an art studio located in Miami Beach, FL (Art Studio 27/20), where she holds workshops, and events for diverse groups and Ages. This was, in fact, Villarreal’s first time covering this specific event at the Frost Museum.
A handful of parents and their children showed up to learn about a specific artist within the Mexican culture, and to enjoy the festivities. The room was packed Saturday morning.
The kids arrived downstairs, and immediately Villarreal introduced herself. She introduced each table and what they stood for. Following after she allowed the parents and their children to play dress up, paint , and gave them the ok to play with the shape overhead tiles.
Anthony Monzon/PantherNOW
The event is originally organized by the Mexican consulate in honor of a Mexican artist named Manuel Carrillo.
Carrillo was a Mexican artist, who photographed and documented his native heritage. His photographs embraced the Mexicanidad, a cultural period that emerged from the Mexican revolution. The children had a wonderful time creating their own art pieces, from some of the photos created by Villarreal herself, as well as photos captured by Carrillo.
Although the event was short on time, the kids learned so much, while having fun. From the articles in a Mexican newspaper to learning a bit about textile art,this event was very educational.
You can visit frost museum online at thefrost.fiu.edu for more on when the artful play date will take place next.
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